Work It: 7 Beauty Essentials You Need To Keep At Your Desk

A well-stocked desk could keep your professional look on point, and we’ve come up with a few must-have items for your workplace beauty arsenal.

We’ve all been there: you’re hard at work when your productivity flow is stopped in its tracks by beauty emergency. You’d really love to focus on that project at your desk, but there just something about your look that’s throwing you off, and it can be hard to get your focus back until it is fixed. Outside of the usual, like a brush and a mirror, here are five items that should have you covered.

Hair Oil

There’s almost nothing worse for naturalistas than to reach up during the middle of the day to brush some hair out of your face than to find that your tresses feel dry and brittle! In this situation, having a mini bottle of hair oil could be a lifesaver for your locks. You won’t need to use a lot, but certainly use enough to hold you over until you get home. Go with a formula that’s more liquid than paste to avoid having moldable hair.

Perfume

A good way to refresh yourself in the afternoon is to spritz on a little perfume. Whether from Victoria Secret, Sephora or the drug store, there are tons of travel-sized scent options out there. Find the right one for you to keep you smelling lovely. Sprays are nice, but don’t dismiss the idea of getting something with a rollerball. A lot of higher-end brands like Ralph Lauren and Clinique use them in their mini-packaging. It gives you a lot more over how much scent you use.

Much like with hair you don’t want to look down to realize that you have a huge ashy patch of skin. Haul out a little lotion to fix up that rusty spot and get back to the task at (well-moisturized) hand. You could even get some extra bang for your buck by getting a scented lotion (if you don’t want to keep perfume at your desk). Just make sure that the brand you buy has a good, moisture-rich formula for your skin without being too greasy. If you want to go the extra mile, pick up some facial moisturizer (or BB cream), too!

Manicure Kit

Everyone works with their hands in some capacity. This means that there is an excellent chance that you could break nail or need to clip a pesky hanging cuticle. Having a small manicure kit at your desk can help keep your fingers neat. Bonus: Many manicure kits come with a pair of tweezers that are great for plucking extra hair around your eyebrows should you notice that you’re looking a bit furry around the forehead.

Putting on a full face of makeup might be a bit time-consuming in the middle of the day, but you’re bound to at least have enough time to swipe on some gloss. And don’t just go for the gloss that has the prettiest color. Make sure you get a product that can double as a lip balm. No amount of color will hide cracked, flaky lips.

Blotting Papers

There’s a difference between having a dewy glow and looking a sweaty mess. Do yourself a favor and pick up some blotting papers to make sure you don’t fall into the latter category.

Bobby Pins

Sometimes there’s just not a thing you can immediately do with your hair when it gets out of control. Aside from the common solution of just putting up, why not put a new twist on the problem. A good set of bobby pins can allow you to re-arrange your ‘do in a neat new way that hair elastics can’t. The added benefit here is that may not need to pull on your hair as much you might need to when tying it up.